


Home is Where You Are

by TigStripe



Series: End of an Era [2]
Category: Star Wars, The Last Jedi
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon Continuation, Family, Gen, Serious, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2018-01-11
Packaged: 2019-03-02 16:14:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13321848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TigStripe/pseuds/TigStripe
Summary: With the Battle of Crait fresh in everyone's minds, the Resistance must find a safe place to call their own. When confronted with a possibly dangerous solution, General Organa leaves the fate of the Resistance in the hands of several very capable young people.





	1. Our Home Goes With Us

**Author's Note:**

> This is the Part 1 of a series of works that will tell my interpretation of the conclusion of the First Order Conflict, beginning directly after the events of "The Last Jedi." It will not use the film's canon as its basis, however - it will use the canon established by my interpretation of the film, also found in my directory here on Ao3, "Make Your Own Hope." Not much has changed from the official canon, the biggest change being that Poe went to Canto Bight with Finn.
> 
> Comments and criticisms are very welcome.

_Fire. Everywhere. Falling from the ceiling. Scattered along the hangar floor. Climbing the supports. Engulfing the bodies of Stormtroopers and ships alike. A loud clanging, set on repeat, as a fallen structure support swings into another over and over._

_No escape. Death, everywhere._

_Phasma, in her chrome armor, rearing her staff up over her head for the final blow. This was it. There was no tomorrow. There was no later today._

_There was no more Rey, no Resistance, no Poe._

_No Rey._

_No Poe._

_A blaster shot, from an impressive distance. Phasma's baton clangs to the ground, harmless. She turns in rage, and is immediately blasted in the chest by much larger bolts. She sails overhead, crumpling along the floor._

_Tomorrow is saved, at least for now._

_A mechanical, two-legged monstrosity approaches. The faint footfalls of a soldier jumping to the metallic floor of the hangar._

_A hand, attached to a body, but...the face is fuzzy._

_Can't...quite see..._

 

The cargo hold was cold and crowded, which made Finn's tossing and turning quite the menace. He had found refuge underneath the Dejarik table, which meant his sudden shuffle slammed his shoulder straight into the main support. His eyes shot open, pain lancing down his arm. He cried out, attempting to sit up, only to bang his head on the table above.

Why was it that every time Finn awoke lately, he somehow managed to cause himself even more pain?

“You okay down there?” The voice was so light, so concerned for Finn's safety. He slithered his way out from under the table to find a familiar face sitting atop the couch behind it, smiling down at him with kindness in her eyes. She was fair of skin and bright of smile, with intelligent eyes that had seen too much action recently. She had finally let her hair down from her traditional three-tail style, to help relieve some of her stress. It now fell limply onto her shoulders, dark and fine.

Finn blushed. Had Rey been watching over him while he slept?

“I'm fine,” Finn said, grinning a bit sheepishly up at his friend. He rolled onto his knees and made his way, with a little effort, up onto the couch next to Rey. He sighed when he found a good spot to sit, still very tired.

“You look beat,” Rey commented bluntly. “You should try to get some more sleep. From what Poe tells me, you two have had quite the adventurous day.”

“You should, too, you know,” Finn replied. “None of us are exactly fresh.”

Rey shrugged. “As true as that is, I'd rather not. There's just too much to see right now.”

Finn pondered this for a moment, but could not quite understand what she referred to.

Something new caught Rey's eye, and she frowned at Finn. “What's that?” she asked, pointing lazily at his chest.

Finn looked down to see that Poe's necklace had fallen out of his shirt in his attempt to reach the couch. He reached up and clasped the ring in his hand, feeling its shape and hardness before pushing it back beneath his tunic, onto his bare flesh. “It's nothing,” he lied, “Just a momento.”

It's very hard to lie to someone attuned as strongly with the Force as Rey, and her suspicion was obvious. But she didn't pry. If it was important, Finn would tell her. Finn noticed the interested look, but was silently grateful that she didn't ask more. To be honest, Finn wasn't sure what to make of the gift. Poe had handed it to him, told him it “suited” him, and had left it at that.

Finn was sure that, to Poe, it more than “suited” Finn. But that was a conversation for a later date.

Content with dropping that conversation, Finn leaned on the Dejarik board and rubbed his temples. “I'm having trouble sleeping,” he admitted. “I keep seeing that First Order hangar. Burning.”

“I know the feeling,” Rey said with a sigh. “It's hard not to think of those soldiers in red. Some of them met rather garish ends.”

The stories had already been told, by both Poe and Rey: Luke Skywalker, on the islands on Ach-To; Snoke, connecting Kylo Ren and Rey's minds; the Canto Bight mission and its eventual failure; Snoke, betrayed by Kylo Ren; the defense on Crait, including Luke's ultimate sacrifice. It had been an intense day. It was difficult for Finn to wrap his mind around, honestly, because so much of it seemed so utterly outlandish.

He looked over at the makeshift cot they'd constructed for Rose, who still slept rather soundly. She had her own medic, a Resistance doctor who had dedicated his time to Rose after checking everyone else on the _Falcon_ had been moderately spared of physical injury.

Everyone, that was, aside from Finn and Poe. Now that he'd had a chance to rest a little, Finn realized just how much his...everything...hurt. He'd been knocked around, tazed (twice!), battled Phasma, blown up in a skimmer, and barely escaped the First Order. He was a wreck, but he didn't want to strain the limited resources the Resistance still had. Poe had shared his sentiment, and had blatantly refused to be seen by the medic, even under Leia's orders.

“I'll get a check-up when we find a place to stop for a breath,” Poe had said. Finn knew he was bluffing – he had no intention of having the medic look at him, and was hoping everyone would forget about him by the time they had to start dealing with the crisis of survival on a new world.

But Rose was being cared for, after that stunt she'd pulled – slamming her skimmer into Finn's to “save him” from the battering ram cannon. Finn didn't know if he'd ever forgive her for risking her own life like that, for someone she barely knew, but her words right after had been inspired.

“We won't win this war by destroying what we hate,” she had said, right before passing out, “but rather by saving the things we love.”

This particular sentiment went beyond Finn's understanding. Of course you destroy the things you hate when you're at war. Save the things you love, if you can, but destroying the threats...isn't that the most important thing?

But when he'd told General Organa what Rose had said, the General had simply nodded, slowly and sagely. It made one think, to be sure – was Rose right? Was there salvation in this conflict, other than savage bloodshed?

But none of this mattered, right this second. The _Millennium Falcon_ was full of refugees, not even a real Resistance anymore. And Finn saw only strange faces when he looked around at his fellow survivors.

Except Rey. There she was, after all of that, still smiling, pushing through the stress and exhaustion. It was truly an honor to be sitting next to her. Finn couldn't help but smile at her, and she almost always smiled back.

“Do we have a heading?” Finn asked, desperate to not bore Rey with exchanging facial expressions.

“I don't know,” Rey replied. “You'd have to ask our pilot.”

“I can't speak Wookie,” Finn said flatly. Rey chuckled. “It's not funny, Rey. You can talk with BB-8 _and_ Chewie. Poe almost doesn't even have to talk to BB-8 to understand what it's saying. But I'm...” He trailed off.

“You're fine, the way you are,” Rey said, placing a supportive hand on his arm. “You'll always have us around to help, just like I know you'll always be around to help us.”

Finn gave a weak smile. Before yesterday – before Canto Bight – he might have agreed. But now, the former Stormtrooper felt a bigger calling than just being there for Rey or Poe. He didn't know how long he'd be capable of saying “I'll always be there,” when he fully expected to be sent on missions without them, eventually.

But for now, Finn nodded. “Right,” he said.

Rey sighed and gave Finn a sideways hug, leaning her head on his shoulder for a moment. “It really is good to see you again, Finn. I know I've said it already, but I did miss you.”

Finn returned the sentiment by leaning his head on hers. “I missed you, too, Rey. I was worried. Really, I was too worried. Poe helped straighten me out a little.”

Rey sat up and looked at him, frowning slightly. “Oh? How so?”

“He reminded me that you are Rey. You're amazing, and you can take care of yourself.”

A little extra color pushed into Rey's cheeks. “Well, it would have been nice to have you around anyway,” she said with a harumph. They both laughed.

Laughing hurt, Finn realized, and he stopped short, bearing the pain with a grin instead. He really did need to get some rest.

“Get some more sleep,” Rey ordered. “I'll be right here if you jerk yourself awake again.”

Finn nodded. “That...sounds like a plan.”

And with that, Finn slid back down, under the Dejarik board, and cozied himself up against the couch for a little more shut-eye.

 

* * *

 

The _Falcon_ and its over-abundant crew made their way to a small green planet called Arue. It was covered in luscious forests and roiling seas, with many a storm and flood. An old Rebel outpost, barely enough to be called a base, was buried into the side of a cliff overlooking a vast ocean. With General Organa's direction, Chewbacca managed to set the ship down in the old, musty hangar, and the crew immediately began bustling about to see what they could salvage.

“This world is not a suitable base of operations,” C-3PO announced as it disembarked the _Falcon_ alongside Rey, Leia, Poe, and Finn _._ “General Organa, what is our status?”

“We snatch what we can, and make for another base,” Leia replied sharply. “We're going to need extra fuel for all this jumping from world to world, and rations to sustain such a large crew.” She looked over at Poe, who stood with a somewhat different air than Finn remembered – he stood up taller, his eyes darker. Like something was forcing him to be a better soldier than before. “Captain, go with 3PO and locate anything we can use to salvage some long-range communications. We need to contact your squadron as soon as possible.”

“Ma'am,” Poe said, hitching her a quick salute. He motioned to C-3PO, and the two of them broke off from the group, aimed at who-knew-where in the hangar.

Leia turned to Rey and Finn. “As for you two,” she said sternly, “there is a library here. This base was owned by an officer of the Rebellion who collected ancient texts. Go and see if there is anything of worth, monetarily or otherwise, among his collection.”

“You want us to salvage books?” Finn asked, confused.

“Knowledge is one of the greatest treasures in the universe, young Finn,” Leia replied. “Some would pay a world's fortune for specific knowledge. Others,” she added, giving Rey a knowing glance, “have influence, and would greatly appreciate favors done for them.”

“Of course,” Rey answered. Finn gave a hasty salute, as close to Poe's as he could, before the two turned away from Leia and headed off in another direction.

This left the General alone, standing amidst the hustle and bustle of scavengers and salvagers. Even now, supporting herself with a cane, she looked regal, untouchable. But she felt the truth – her time in space had done some lasting damage, and compounded with her already accelerated age, it would soon be too much for their limited medical facilities to accommodate.

In short, the General was dying, and quickly.

It was all she could do to establish a foothold with the Resistance before she fell unable to command. It was what she _must_ strive to do.

“General.”

Commander D'Acy approached Leia from the _Falcon_ 's ramp, concern in her voice. Leia nodded at her approach. “Yes, Commander?”

“This system is compromised, General. We have intercepted First Order communicae.”

D'Acy usually was the one with the level head, but Leia supposed their current situation caused some unusual actions to prosper. “As long as we maintain radio silence, we should be capable of hiding here for several days, at the very least, Commander. But we won't. I'll not risk our chances. We will depart before sunrise.”

The Commander nodded hesitantly and turned to offer her assistance with one of the nearby tasks.

Leia sighed. The First Order had fingers in most systems in this region of space, and it only became more perilous the closer to populated systems you went. The Resistance was going to run out of places to hide, soon enough.

What they needed was an ally.

That thought was unsettling. They'd sent out a distress call on Crait, with no response. People on several worlds had received their transmission, but were too scared of the Order to reply. This gave Leia reason to believe it would be very difficult to bolster their numbers, in any sense of the word. As it stood, the Resistance was on its own.

But.

There was one place.

Leia smiled.

 

* * *

 

The orders from the General spread like wildfire, probably due to the lack of bodies that needed telling: reconvene at the _Falcon_ in two hours.

Soon, the handful of hopefuls stood in a scattered circle near the entrance to their ship, salvage in tow. In the center of the circle, the General, standing tall as she could. Poe, Finn, and Rey stood together, with BB-8 and Chewbacca nearby. When she saw them together, the General felt a surge of hope bubble up from deep within. They reminded her so much of her own friends in the Rebellion, it hurt. Her smile was sad, which gave Poe reason to frown.

“My friends,” Leia began, looking around the circle. “We are few. We are scattered. But we are not beaten. We have friends. We have many. And we have purpose.” Slow nodding spread throughout the gathering as she continued. “Our road is treacherous. Our lives will be frought with danger. But we will not yield. We will rise up, a reincarnation of the shadow of the Rebellion. The First Order will not sleep well, knowing we still live.” Some quiet hurrahs, scattered amongst the survivors. “There is a place we can go. It will not be safe. But it will be a beacon of hope to the galaxy.” She stole a moment of her speech to give Poe another sad smile, issuing another, deeper frown, before continuing.

“My friends, the Rebellion is to return to Yavin IV.”

The congregation stood in shock, whispering between each other feverishly. Leia smiled, this time with mirth. Poe, however, had taken a step back, sheer terror in his eyes. Finn noticed this, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“General, with all due respect,” Commander D'Acy began, but Leia raised a hand, cutting her off.

“I understand your concerns, but it is our best option. The Order will not take what is ours.” Leia's face was confident, her eyes made of steel. “We have everything we need. We will continue to stop at former Rebellion outposts for rest, but our new destination is set. We will depart in an hour. May the Force be with us all.”

The circle disbanded, most people turning to their various salvage to begin hoisting it to the _Falcon_ , but Poe slipped out from Finn's grasp and almost stomped his way up to the General, his face contorted in fury.

“ _Leia_.” The name sent a chill through Finn's heart. It was not a word uttered with the usual love and reverence he was accustomed to hearing from Poe – instead, it sounded harsh. It sounded almost traitorous. “What are you thinking? Yavin has too many connections to us. It'll be one of the first places the Order looks for us.”

“I would remind you, _Captain_ , that you're speaking to your commanding officer,” Leia replied sternly, but Poe didn't back down. “As I said: I understand your concerns. I had them, as well. But there is no better time to go home, Poe.”

Poe shifted back, assuming a more neutral stance, but Finn saw the gentle shaking of his shoulders. He was still having difficulty holding himself back.

“Poe.” Leia's hardened expression softened, and she held up a hand to place on Poe's cheek. “I know. It will be difficult. But trust me. Please.”

Poe felt Leia's hand against his skin, soft, with rough patches formed from years of hard work in the Rebellion, then the New Republic, and later the Resistance. The burning rage he felt melted away almost instantly. He stopped shaking, and almost fell into Leia's touch. Tears lined his eyes, and his hand subconsciously reached up to his chest to feel...

Nothing.

Poe blinked in surprise, then turned away from Leia's hand to look back, wide-eyed, at Finn and Rey. His mother's necklace had found a new home. Poe had found a new family. And it was high time that family found a home, as well.

With a thoughtful expression on his face, Poe looked back at Leia, and nodded silently. He tried to unfurl his eyebrows before turning back to face his friends again. He would have a lot of explaining to do, one day soon.

 


	2. A Breath of Fresh Air

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, some good news - other parts of the Resistance live! The survivors of Crait gear up to rendezvous with others in the Resistance before finally heading towards Yavin IV, their potential new base of operations.

Two more worlds were visited by the _Millennium Falcon_ before they received any good news.

C-3PO's droid network had finally managed to track them down, on a sandy Outer Rim planet (“Why are all the Outer Rim planets desert worlds?” Finn asked.) at a large bazaar in one of the larger space ports on the planet. A little R5 unit approached the gold-plated diplomat droid and began beeping and whistling madly.

“It's talking so fast, I can't even understand it,” Rey whispered to Poe, who nodded agreement. But C-3PO didn't seem to mind.

“Oh, my. Thank you!” The droid turned to General Organa, and – if Finn didn't know any better – actually made a dance-like motion with its arms. “General, we finally have news of the Kintur Arm.”

Poe rushed forward and stood next to Leia, both of them suddenly _very_ attentive. “The Kintur Arm.You're sure?” Poe asked.

“Yes, Captain. I have been informed that the entirety of the Arm has been preserved, and is en route to rendezvous with the Starchin Arm.”

For the first time since escaping Crait, Poe let out a loud cry of laughter, flinging his arms into the air. The sudden outburst made Rey jump. Finn, however, was just confused. “What are these Arms?” he asked.

Leia turned to Finn, a look of sheer relief of her face. “They are extensions of the Resistance that were based on other worlds from D'Qar,” she explained.

The next laugh came from Rey, who had shared in Poe's shameless grinning. “That means we have allies out there, waiting to be found,” she said. “How large are these Arms?”

The answer came from Poe this time. “Not very large. Small squadrons of fighters, not a lot of officers. But they're bodies, and they're still in prime condition.” His grin never once subsided, and he rushed forward and hugged his friends, who returned his excitement. By their side, BB-8 whirred happily.

The R5 unit continued to speak with C-3PO while the humans and BB-8 approached the bazaar's marketplace with new, reinvigorated strides. It was the first time they'd felt so optimistic in days. As they approached a vegetable stand, Poe's communicator beeped at him, causing him to step back and answer.

“Dameron, here,” he said, his smile still plastered across his face. This news meant his squad was still alive!

“Captain, Rose is awake. I thought you should know,” the Resistance medic piped from the other end of the line.

“Oh. Okay, thanks,” Poe replied with a laugh. He slapped Finn on the shoulder. “Hey, guys. Rose is up!”

Leia looked even more relieved than before. It was always stressful to watch such good people suffer so, and Rose was not the only one who had suffered – watching Finn pace back and forth near her had caused quite a bit of stress among the remaining Resistance members.

“That's great,” Finn cried, a grin on his face. “Man. I haven't smiled this much since...”

“Since you found me at Starkiller base,” Rey replied with a laugh. They laughed together with Poe, but Poe felt his smile wane, just a little.

“I'll go catch Rose up,” Finn said, and before anyone could say otherwise, he was jogging back towards the _Falcon_ , leaving the General, the Captain, and the Jedi.

Poe watched him leave, his arms crossed, his smile small and warm. “He really feels responsible for her, huh?” he asked no one in particular.

Despite the good news, their delay on the desert world was intended to be quite short – it was primarily to meet with 3PO's operative. Before long, the Resistance had regrouped aboard the _Falcon_ , and they were on their way.

Rey found herself wandering the corridor, when she heard some fevered whispering around the corner. She peeked her head in on the source, to find Finn and Rose talking quietly in the forward cargo hold, sitting on some salvage from one of the Rebel bases. Rey cleared her throat to make herself known, and approached them.

Rose's face lit up like a beacon, her eyes twinkling in the low hull lighting. “Omigosh, it's _you_. You're Rey. The Jedi.”

Rey chuckled. “I'm not a Jedi. I just use the Force,” she replied, sitting across from them on another box of junk. “But yes, I'm Rey. It's nice to meet you, Rose Tico. You're quite the hero yourself.”

Rose started fanning herself and laughing. “Oh, no, no, all I did was bump Finn's skimmer.”

“Well that makes you a hero to me,” Finn said with a smile. Rose's cheeks turned a deep red in response. Rey just laughed.

“Finn has been catching me up on everything that's happened,” Rose said. “If there's anything I can do to help, I'll do it.”

“You just rest for now,” Rey told her, “you're still recovering. It's only been two days, after all.”

The little mechanic seemed unnerved by this order. She looked at Finn nervously. “Are we sure we can spare the manpower?” she asked.

That was a fair point, but Rey stood her ground. “No, Rose. Not until the medic can have another look at you.”

Rose sighed and half-heartedly agreed. Finn promised not to get her too wound up, as well. Rey nodded her contentment with this, and bid them goodbye. She had someone else she needed to speak with.

Poe and BB-8 were near the engine room, allowing the droid to make some minor repairs on a valve that had loosened during take off. As dependable as the _Falcon_ was, it was getting on in age, and things were starting to loosen up here and there. Rey's foot falls signalled her approach, and Poe greeted her with a kind smile and a friendly pat on the shoulder.

“It's nice to see you smile so much,” Rey said, leaning on the bulkhead. “You've been such a wreck since we decided to go back to Yavin.”

Poe's face fell dark, and he nodded. “If you could, Rey, would you go back to Jakku?”

That was a question Rey had been asking herself since the Starkiller base. She considered her words for a moment before answering, “No, I don't think I would. There's nothing there for me anymore.”

Poe raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What about waiting on your family to come back for you?”

The noise Rey made was not a nice one. “I think I've seen the light on that,” she admitted quietly. “They weren't coming back for me.”

“That's horrible,” Poe muttered. BB-8 whined his agreement.

“Why do you ask about Jakku?” Rey asked.

“It's Yavin,” Poe replied, rubbing his temple and leaning to the side. “Imagine that Jakku looked like D'Qar while you were growing up, and you wanted to go home to that. But you know – you _know_ – it's different now. Sandy and desolate.”

“Is Yavin a wasteland, too?” Rey asked, surprised. The holovids she'd seen were all lush and jungly.

Poe chuckled. “No, no. I mean, the world is different. Yavin used to be an active member of the Republic, but not long before I joined the Navy, something...changed. It stopped caring about the Republic, the Senate, or even threats about the First Order. It's just...different. It's not how I remember it at all.”

“So it hurts a little to see your home, but not _your home_ ,” Rey finished Poe's thought for him. “I see.” She patted him on the arm. “But surely there are some people there who still remind you of your old home, right? Do you have any family there?”

Poe shook his head. Rey felt her arm fall limply to her side, defeated.

The pilot looked up at Rey, and she realized he was smiling. “But I don't need family on Yavin,” he said. “I have family here. The Resistance is my true home.”

And for the first time since rejoining the Resistance, Rey realized that she felt the same way.

Kashyyyk. Despite its participation in intergalactic affairs in the past, the wooden home of the Wookies had been surprisingly untouched since the appearance of the First Order. Only scattered patrols showed themselves, with ground troops experiencing overwhelming resistance from the local population – they'd been enslaved multiple times over the course of history, and weren't about to let the Order do it again. Scattered across the surface were old Republic and Rebellion outposts, all abandoned. It was to one of these deserted locales the Resistance had decided to use as a rendezvous.

Finn wasn't sure what to expect, but when walked down the ramp out of the _Falcon_ , he realized he wasn't prepared. No less than sixteen starfighters – mostly old X-Wings – had found their way there, alongside transport after transport. The base was bustling with bodies and droids alike, and Finn felt a rush of excitement seeing how many people still fought for the Resistance. Rey was next to him, similarly stunned, but Rose and Poe had already charged ahead, engaging in a variety of checks and evaluations regarding the base's status.

Rey felt the quiet presence of the General behind her. She turned with a smile, which Leia returned. “This is amazing, General. There are so many people!”

“D'Qar housed about four hundred people,” Leia replied, leading the two of them off the ramp and over to a munitions pile, “but it was only about half the Resistance's numbers. The other half was scattered into four smaller groups. We've yet to hear back from the Ilan or Ortos Arms, but I'm confident we will before we leave Kashyyyk.”

“How long are we staying?” Rey asked.

“Long enough to assess our numbers and come up with a plan for Yavin,” Leia replied. “At most, three days or so. Don't get too comfortable, but, make yourselves at home. You two are heroes among the Resistance, regardless of how you feel about yourselves.” That last sentence was directed at Finn, who chuckled nervously.

Rose found them and introduced them to several mechanics and maintenance droids around the base – she wasn't originally part of the D'Qar Resistance faction, she informed them. Rose and Paige Tico were both part of the Starchin Arm, and had been at D'Qar for intelligence purposes when the Order had arrived.

Finn couldn't keep up with the names. Everyone, especially the more alien members of the Resistance, had such unique names. It was difficult to track them in his mind, when he was so accustomed to simple number assignments. Rey, however, met each person with a friendly handshake or nod, and left many of them stunned when they realized _just_ who those two were.

That's when Poe grabbed Finn by the hand and pulled him with boyish excitement down to the line of X-Wings parked near the _Falcon_. Poe was practically running, and his mouth wouldn't stop – something about “We've got this now” and “best fighters in the Resistance” or maybe “You're gonna love these guys.” Rey followed behind, with an interested Rose tagging along, as well.

When they finally came to a rest, Finn found himself standing in front of a handful of pilots – a a stunning, dark haired woman with grease stains on her face and a wrench in her hand; a burly, bearded man who looked like he could either have a drink with you or aim a blaster at you at the drop of a hat; and a light haired woman who looked like she could outdo anyone in a physical challenge. They looked Finn and Rey over, most of them having some kind of approving look on their face.

The dark haired woman, however, looked skeptical. “ _This_ is the famous Finn Stormtrooper?”

Poe shot her a nasty look. “Don't call him that, Jess.”

“Is this your squadron, Poe?” Rey asked.

“Black Squadron, at your service, Miss Jedi,” the burly man replied with a bit of a curtsy. “I'm Snap. This is Jess,” he said, motioning to the greased up woman, “and this is Karé,” he said, motioning to the athletic looking one.

“You're standing in the presence of the best starfighter pilots in the Resistance,” Rose said, nudging Finn in the rib. Her excitement was almost palpable.

“Well, I would hate to brag,” Jess said, shifting her weight.

“But you will,” Snap piped in, and everyone just laughed.

Jess laughed, too. “It's good to see you again, Rose. I heard about Paige.” She gripped the wrench a bit tighter in memoriam. “I'm sorry.”

Rose idly reached up and felt the necklace under her jacket, a momento she shared with her late sister. Finn put his hand on her shoulder. “She died a hero,” he said. Rose nodded and her smile returned.

“So, Poe,” Snap said, crossing his arms, “What's the plan, anyway?”

“I'll let the General tell you,” Poe replied. “It's...”

“We're headed to Yavin,” Finn finished. The Black Squadron each looked shocked, giving Poe far more pitiful looks than Finn knew he wanted.

“Don't,” Poe muttered. Jess walked up and gave him a hug, but he barely moved. “Guys, I'm fine.”

“You're not, but that's okay,” Karé said. “And we'll be there with you.”

Rey slapped Poe on the back. “She's right. They'll have your backs in the air, and they'll have ours everywhere else.”

Poe made a sidelong smile and nodded once. “All right. Enough of this.” Jess broke her hug. “Let's get settled for the briefing. The General's going to have our hides if we're late.”

The pilots gave lazy salutes, and turned toward the nearby hangar, large enough to hold everyone together. As the group of pilots, Rose, and Rey walked on, Finn couldn't help but feel something new – a sort of happiness, of belonging, that he never felt with the Order.

Is _this_ what it was like to be surrounded by family?

 


	3. Making A Home For Yourself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Yavin IV in sight, the heroes of the Resistance realize something is very, very off. They proceed with caution to establish a foothold on one of the most important locations in recent Galactic history.

The plan was quite simple, in essence – sneak onto Yavin IV and basically start a guerilla ground war against any First Order troops in the area. A slow, deliberate liberation of Yavin. Leia had strings she could pull in the sector, to acquire funding and support. Black Squadron would be the eyes and ears in the sky, hopefully managing to quietly take out Order supply lines while the other pilots played defense around Yavin.

They prepared their ships with what they could, and made the jump out of the Kashyyyk system.

The trip to Yavin took almost a day, allowing everyone to get some much-needed extra rest. Rey found herself piloting the _Falcon_ in shifts with Chewbacca, while Rose and Poe took the opposite shift. Finn made himself useful by tuning up a stockpile of blasters they'd come across on one of the abandoned bases. He was skilled with the task, silently hating himself for having a history that would allow such efficiency.

The _Falcon_ was far less crowded now, but the new flagship of the Resistance still held a special place in the General's heart. Leia sealed herself off in the only stateroom on the ship for most of the day, not talking with anyone for prolonged periods of time. At one point, Poe had seen her walking to the fresher, and he noticed just how hunched over and small she seemed. He watched her with concern, but dared not bring it up. If the General needed help, she would ask, right?

The final piloting shift found Chewbacca and Rey in the cockpit, when Poe appeared in the doorway.

“Hey, Rey? The General wants to talk with us,” he told her. “Can Chewie solo for a while?”

Chewbacca grumbled his approval, and Rey left the cockpit with Poe, her heart beating quickly. This would be the final briefing, it would seem.

Finn and Rose were already waiting for them with the General in the forward cargo hold. BB-8 sat next to a tall, familiar blue and white R2 unit, who had decided to join them. Poe saluted the droid as he entered, his heart somewhere in his throat at the thought of the sheer amount of action that little astromech had seen.

“It's an honor, R2-D2,” Poe said. The droid whistled a response, but it was quiet. Almost sorrowful. Poe settled himself next to the droids for the briefing, which allowed him to see everyone quite well, actually.

General Leia began the briefing with a smile on her face. “I'm glad we're together for this mission,” she said, eyeing each person in the room individually. Rey felt a pressure coming from the General, like Leia wasn't quite being entirely honest with them. She knew the General was hiding something, but trusted her enough not to bring it up.

“We're just a few hours out from the Yavin system,” Leia continued. “You all know the Resistance's plan, but you all have a special mission.”

“A special mission? Does anyone else know about it?” Poe asked.

Leia shook her head. “I didn't want to spark any doubt in our chances of success,” she explained. “There is a complication with our settling on Yavin. Forwarded intelligence from the planet has informed us that there is a First Order installation not far from the Beyton colony.” Her eyes fell on Poe, looking for any kind of reaction. Poe didn't give her the satisfaction – he stared at her, duty in his eyes and no sign of wavering. When he did not say anything, Leia continued. “We know that this installation is the central communications hub for the system. If we take it down, the First Order will be flying blind. That could likely buy us all the time we need to establish a proper defense, for when the Order inevitably retaliates.”

Finn shook his head. “We're antagonizing them? Is that what we want to do with such a small force?” Poe searched the man's face for signs of fear or weakness, but found none. He was concerned, but not afraid. The made the pilot smile, just a little bit, thinking of how terrified Poe had been previously when the Order was involved.

“We are antagonizing them,” Leia replied with a curt nod. “We are sending them a message: the Resistance lives, and we will not go down without a fight. Holdo's actions in the Crait system crippled their leadership, destroyed a large support fleet for their remaining leaders, and – according to our sources – may have actually started a splinter within the Order itself. This is an opportunity we cannot ignore.”

“A splinter,” Poe repeated, lost in thought. His experience with the Order told him that they were above petty arguments, preferring more _permanent_ resolutions to their issues.

“Will taking control of Yavin really help that much?” Rose asked. “I mean, it's a little out of the way.”

The General shook her head. “No, and that's why it's important we liberate it. It's a system the Order doesn't care about. It will be easy to take, and easy to defend.”

“But what prevents the Order from converging on Yavin as a fleet?” Rey asked.

Poe was interested in that, as well, but the General's only reponse was a coy smile.

 

The whole crew stood anxiously in the cockpit of the _Falcon_ as Chewbacca eased them out of lightspeed. The sudden lurch of coming out of hyperspace had always given Rose a weird sensation in her stomach. It wasn't a sick feeling, just...uncomfortable. She took stock of her surroundings, and could still barely believe the _legends_ she was associating with. She cleared her throat quietly and stood up as straight as she could, ready to perform her duties as needed.

“Be ready,” Leia warned, placing a hand on Chewbacca's shoulder. He growled his agreement.

The _Falcon_ had exited hyperspace a little over two hours ahead of the rest of the Resistance fleet. They could see the gaseous planet of Yavin with its moons scattered about, from where they had entered the system. Chewbacca piloted the ship through the empty space leading up to the planet's forested moon of Yavin IV, with every heart in the cockpit beating furiously.

Any moment now, they would see a Star Destroyer or some other First Order ship on their sensors, or out the window, silently gloating that this system was under their control.

Aaaaany moment now.

Chewbacca circled the planet, scanning for enemy presence in low orbit, but found nothing. He made his concern known to Leia, who just shook her head.

“Go ahead and set us down near Beyton,” she instructed. Chewie acknowledged this.

Chewbacca located the settlement while in low orbit, and lowered them into the atmosphere as gently as he could. It wasn't long before they could see the settlement spread out beneath them.

Poe felt a hand on his shoulder. Expecting Finn or Rey, he was surprised when he saw Leia's rings on his jacket, gripping his arm in both comfort and dependency. Poe placed his hand on hers, and they stared out at Poe's home, rushing up at them.

Chewbacca found a clearing in the nearby forest to accommodate the _Falcon_ , and the crew soon found themselves gathered again in the cargo hold.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Poe muttered, his eyes dark. “Where are the Order troops?”

“We can't delay our mission,” Leia replied. “Order or no, we have a job to do. Chewie and I will remain here. We all know our roles in this.”

Everyone nodded. Poe idly reached up to his chest, but this time he caught himself before grasping at nothing. He glanced at Finn, whose hand had clasped Rey's in comfort. Rose was tapping her foot nervously. Even BB-8 seemed a little unstable, wobbling in place. Poe hid a smile – it was good to see everyone was on edge. Being on edge heightened your senses and reflexes. It kept you alive.

“Comms on,” Leia announced. Everyone reached up and pressed the button behind their ears, turning on their communication devices. The cargo ramp lowered, revealing the forest floor. The four of them and BB-8 cautiously exited the ship, feeling the soft give of the dirt beneath their feet.

“We're ready,” Poe announced.

The General's response was expected, and not unwelcome: “May the Force be with you.”

 

Poe navigated the streets of Beyton with surprising ease, considering how long it had been since he'd been home. He led the group through back alleys, to avoid too much public exposure, even though no one seemed to care that four young humans and a BB unit were traveling as a compact group. They looked suspicious, to be sure, and anyone associated with the First Order would have been able to identify either Poe or BB-8, if not each of their faces.

It took them almost an hour to find the First Order installation. It was a squat, square building with no windows and only one large double door in the front. No guards patrolled it, no mechs or droids were in sight. The walls looked sturdy, capable of withstanding a considerable amount of blaster fire – thank goodness they weren't planning on blowing it up.

They made their way across the street, sidling up next to the building. Poe signalled BB-8, and the little droid went to work on the lock mechanism for the front door. The four humans blocked the astromech from view from the street, just in case anyone noticed.

No one seemed to notice.

A hissing sound cued them in on BB-8's success, and they slipped silently into the building, each with a hand on his or her weapons.

The inside of the building was completely powered down. Only the floodlights along the top of the walls illuminated the foyer and subsequent hallways. BB-8 had to force open every door they encountered. Poe, blaster drawn, couldn't shake a sinking feeling in his stomach. This was _too easy._

As they approached the master control room, Poe stopped. Everyone else stopped, as well, following his lead. Poe looked at Rey and asked, “Do you feel anything?”

Rey blinked in surprise. “Do I feel anything?”

The pilot nodded. “Something is very wrong here.”

“No,” Rey said, taking in the dark hall in which they stood. “I don't feel anything at all.”

BB-8 opened the door to the master controls, a larger room with several stations lining the walls. In the center, a console next to a large, luxurious chair. They entered the room and spread out, looking for any signs of recent use. Rose carefully approached the center console and tapped a few buttons.

She shot a look at Finn and shook her head. “This station is completely offline. There's nothing to power down.”

BB-8 beeped and whirred at Poe, who raised his blaster to a console. “No tripwire tech, either. This place is an egg, waiting to be smashed.” He fired the blaster, frying the console in front of him.

“Poe!” Rey cried. “What are you doing? We're not supposed to-”

“It's not something they can trace back to the Resistance without confirmation of the fleet,” Poe replied, blasting another console. Sparks flew through the air, his comrades wincing at the brazenness of his actions. “We'll just market it to look like a break in if someone comes around. But this place hasn't seen use at all. It's a brand new facility with no troops, no officers, no technicians.” He shook his head, his eyes locked on the sputtering console before him. “I still don't like this.”

“Let's get out of here, then,” Rose suggested. “The longer we stay here, the more I hate this place.”

Poe nodded. “Fall back. We'll give our report, then see what needs to be done.”

They turned toward the door and headed out of the facility without incident. No traps, no ambushes, no alarms – BB-8 didn't even detect a single signal from within the compound. As they exited out onto the street, Poe blasted the controls to the front door, making it look like a forced entry.

“I still don't like this,” he kept saying under his breath. Something was _very, very_ wrong.

 

Upon their return to the _Millennium Falcon_ and their report to the General, the group found themselves coming down from a high on needless adrenaline. Finn felt several muscles ache from tension, but their job was not yet complete.

Chewbacca called down to the cargo hold. They were receiving a transmission in the cockpit from the Resistance.

“This is Lieutenant Connix,” the transmission began. “We've arrived in the Yavin system. No hostiles upon entering low orbit over Yavin IV. Freely speaking, General, we're all very nervous.”

“You have every right to be, Lieutenant,” Leia replied. “I don't like this, either. Signal the fleet to land on the coordinates I'm sending you. It's an old Rebellion base not far from the Beyton settlement.”

“Acknowledged, General. Connix, out.” The transmission ended, leaving the cockpit in an estranged silence.

“Let's go, Chewie, we've got work to do at that base,” Leia said. Chewbacca agreed, and set the _Falcon_ through its warm-up sequence.

As the ship rose into the air above the dense forests of Yavin IV, tensions were high. Where were the First Order forces? Nothing was adding up, and for one Poe Dameron, that spelled trouble. Even now, safe about the _Falcon_ , something didn't feel right. Looking out a window on the port side of the ship, Poe watched the settlement of Beyton pass by below.

Poe knew he would eventually have to go see him. He shook his head, irritation creeping up his temples. He had a headache coming, he just knew.

“Poe.”

Finn stood behind Poe, hands leisurely crossed at his chest, his eyes full of concern. Poe stepped back from the window and gave his friend a half-smile. “Hey, bud. You need something?”

“Why didn't you tell me you were from here?” Finn asked. His voice sounded almost sad, which surprised Poe. Why did it matter to Finn?

Poe scoffed. “Yavin isn't my home. It hasn't been for a while.”

“But you have history here,” Finn said, lowering his arms and standing in front of the window. They'd passed Beyton now, and were rushing across the tops of kilometers of forest.

“History doesn't mean everything,” Poe replied, sitting on a nearby bend in the bulkhead. “I don't want to be here, Finn.”

“Rey may have mentioned that.”

“It's not _my home_.” There was a familiar, irritating sensation in Poe's chest, crushing his stomach and stomping on his heart. He'd felt dejected or defeated several times since joining the Resistance, but never on such a primal level.

“She may have mentioned that, too.”

“Why do you even care, Finn?” Poe found his voice rising. He looked up at Finn angrily. “Why does it matter? Why does everyone care about this hunk of dirt?!”

Finn was silent. He turned his head to look back at Poe, but he didn't move from the window. The light from outside played on his dark skin – Poe was forgetting what Finn looked like in natural light, as much as they'd been ship-bound recently. Without so much as a sigh or a twitch, Finn said, “We don't care about Yavin, Poe. We care about you.”

Poe bit his lower lip as his heart plummeted into his foot. He felt his face turn red, this time not out of rage, but embarrassment. He looked at the floor between his feet, shame smashing into his gut. “I'm sorry, pal. I...” He trailed off, not sure what to say next.

The bulkhead found another visitor as Finn placed himself next to Poe. “Rose and her sister were orphans. Did you know that, Poe?”

He had known that. Poe and Paige had been on a few missions together, and as a byproduct, he'd gotten to know Rose decently well. He knew about their difficult life on a mining colony. He nodded silently.

“Rey doesn't want to go home, either. Jakku holds too many painful memories for her now.” Finn's voice cracked when he mentioned Rey. “Kylo Ren told her that her parents were buried somewhere in the dunes. She has nothing left there.”

Poe hadn't heard this, but that wasn't unexpected – Rey was much closer with Finn than she was with Poe. But these comments...

“Are...are you trying to help me see other people have it worse than me?” Poe asked, probably a little more harshly than he should have. “I don't need to be told that.”

“No.” Finn's voice was quiet. Careful. He looked down at his hands, which were folded into each other. “I don't remember my homeworld. It...” He faltered for a moment, thinking of the right words to say. “It would be _nice_. To have a place to know as 'home.'”

Poe sat up straight, his eyes on his friend, who wouldn't look him in the face. “You _are_ home, Finn. And it's not a planet or a ship.”

Poe reached down and took one of Finn's hands in his own. Finn looked at their interlaced fingers, then up at Poe, his eyes searching for the meaning of this physical contact. Poe just smiled.

“We're home. Here. The Resistance. Each other.”

Finn saw it, there in Poe's face. The gentle, skewed smile. The kind, experienced eyes. Finn felt the heat of Poe's hand in his, and realized that he did feel more _at home_ with Poe, with Rey, and even with General Leia, than he had ever felt in the Order.

Finn squeezed Poe's hand and sighed, looking back at the window. Night would be falling soon – perfect for an undercover settling of an abandoned Rebellion base. “So this is home,” he whispered.

He felt Poe's head come to rest on his shoulder, his arm hooked under Finn's, their hands in one another, and the two of them sat like that for a long time.

And for once, Finn knew he was _exactly_ where he was supposed to be.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! This is the first of several pieces in my End of an Era series, and I hope to see you down the road, too.


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